The White Cross
by Purpleground
Summary: When a stranger seek to resurface the old properties hidden through generation in the Valley of Peace, Master Shifu, Po and the Furious Five were plunged into a deadly playground between the mercenaries and assassins. P.S Not religion related.
1. The Money Talks

**Disclaimer**: I own no Kung Fu Panda as it is owned by Dreamwork

**Author's Note**: Well, it's been a while I haven't post anything up. I've been working on this for fun for quite a long time... A year maybe? I don't know if you find it to your liking or not, but this story is pretty much inspired by the writing of Da Vinci Code, and Angel's and Demon, or Deception. Good fast action paced books. Remember to try them out. And In case you're wondering, White Cross has nothing to do with religion. Although I know the name will probably remind you of the cross in Christianity. But it's not in this case. I called it 'White' because the story is set in Winter. And the cross... well... You might find out along the story. It's not very complicated. In either way, enjoy.

* * *

**WHITE CROSS**

"Legend has it, that 1000 years ago, five sages from around the world would gather every 200 years to document the very history into one single book. The book, by far was concealed because of its priceless memory of every war, every policies, and every history throughout the era. The gathering where each chapter is written would last for one month.

During that month none of them will leave the area, until the chapter of the time was completed. Once the book was sealed and stored in a safe place, the sages would once again leave the gathering, and return to their normal lives as the book shall never fall into the hand of the outsiders. Still, the power of knowledge had driven the hungers to the book, to which they seek to scourge the philosophies of the world into just one purpose – power and conquer.

"But you know what? That's all just make up beliefs," said Mantis.

"Really?" Crane raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit offended by the choice of word.

"Ya," Mantis reassured. "Who would ever live for such a long time? Every 200 years? Oh, pl-lease."

"I-I don't know, what about Oogway?" Po protested. "He lived for a thousands years right?"

Mantis rolled his eyes. "Okay, put Oogway as one of the five. What will be the other four then?"

"Urrmmm…" Po scratched his chin. "That's a hard one."

"Try four more tortoises," Tigress smirked. "That will get you somewhere."

"Tortoise from around the world?" Monkey laughed. "Brilliant."

"I presume there is some sarcasm in those words, Monkey?" grinned Tigress.

"I don't know, guys," Viper frowned. "I thought I heard about this legend before when I was a kid. And after all, China is one of the oldest countries that ever built. Anything that happened way back in this country might be possible."

Silence swept the room, but Crane broke it with a deep breath. "Whatever it is, let's just keep it there, okay guys? Mantis, would you mind putting that old scroll back, we still got cleaning to do, remember?"

"Oh yeah," Mantis frowned at Po, "cleaning the bookshelf in the _morning_.."

"What?" the panda barked innocently, "All I did was just asked 'Hey Master Shifu, can I get a peak at the thousand scrolls of kung fu?'. And then he was like.."

Po started to mimic a hunched person. "Hmmmm…." He massaged his invisible beard. "This place looked dusty…. should to be cleaned."

The gang laughed.

"Yeah, I gotta hand it to ya, you would've been a perfect decoy for 'trouble'."

"I will take _that_ as a complement," Po smiled wryly.

"Anyway," Tigress sighed, "where is the grand master?"

Crane put the newly cleaned scrolls back into the shelf. "I believe I heard him mentioned something about going down to town, then he just hurried off. He seemed a bit rushed."

"Something happened down there?" Mantis asked. "You know Master Shifu rarely take a step outside of the Jade Palace, right?"

"Maybe," Viper dusted off the scrolls, "the town nowadays wasn't going very well."

"What do you mean?"

Viper dropped her jaw at Mantis, "Didn't you noticed? The wares are getting fewer and fewer lately. Something must've happened."

"Wares? You mean make-ups?" teased Mantis sarcastically.

"No, I was thinking about food actually," Viper huffed. "But since I myself wasn't very sure of what is happening now, I don't think I can say anything more. So let's keep it that way as well."

"Guys," Crane called, getting all the members attention back, "Can we just… continue cleaning up the chores here? Master Shifu won't be happy if he sees us chattering over our work."

"Okay, okay," Mantis sighed, "you the boss."

* * *

Time seemed to be passed almost as quick as unnoticed. It was now almost reaches the mid of the day. and since it was winter, the sun is still far from visible. Under the thick gloomy sky, the Grand Master can be seen paced slowly towards the Jade Palace, gripping a scroll in his hand as he plodded across the yard. Something had happened in the village this morning. And it seemed many villagers had been bear witnesses to the scene. The incident, as they speak, was not a light one. It rarely happened.

_Correction_, it never happened. Not in this peaceful village anyway.

Before dawn, he was woken up by an alarming knock on the door, hearing his name being whispered slightly out of tone. It turned out, was none other than the messenger he had in the palace, Zheng. The news he got, quickly driven him down into the village, leaving his students unattended for the morning greeting. Doing so, he would expect an idiotic laughs from his students when the six found out that they had just greeted _nothing_ in unison.

_So much of a morning_, he sighed.

When he got down into the village, the settings he saw before him was gruesome beyond words. Piles of blood and broken pieces of armors scattered across the middle street of the market alley. He saw blood in his life, of course, but not this plenty. With the red trails splattered from the floor to the wall, he could depict that a massacre had just happened overnight, on that very icy ground he stood. Sadly, and weirdly, nobody heard a thing during the night. No reports of missing personals from the night guards, or _even_ some villagers came screaming that they had suffered losses in properties. The scene leaves no trail to whom had been there, but there is definitely signs of many. At the least, there was ten of them..

That was not all. Something else also presented on the scene- a fragment of a relic.

"Morning, master!"

Reality came screeching into his head like a violent nudge. He was a bit numbed when he saw his students' eyes on him.

Master Tigress, ever so attentive to his expression, certainly noticed it. "Is something wrong, Master?"

The gang's eyes switched from his face to the scroll in his hands like a bunch of cats happened to spot a living mouse.

"What's that, Master Shifu?" Viper hastily asked. By that time, her voice stung like a needle to him.

_Something needed to be done first. _He thought. _I need explanation._

Seeing the tension building up on Shifu's face, Po tried to change the topic. "Hey, urrrh... The scrolls you told us to clean up? Yeah, we've done that.

"Well, in case you're wondering."

"That's... very good, students." Shifu finally spoke up, taking a breath. "Well, I... will be in my room if you need me."

Before the grand master trailed off, he added again, "Only when it is serious, okay?"

When their grand master had walked over the hearing distance, the gang began to settled down. "Something's wrong?" Mantis scratched his head.

"Definitely." Tigress's eyes narrowed, trying to focus her eyes on the paper held in Shifu's hand. Her master disappeared as soon as he made a turn around the corner. And her eyes were left hovering over the entrance.

Po and the others remained silence, as her words dragged them into a series of wild guesses inside their head.

* * *

Miles away from the Valley of Peace, deep inside the heart of the swampy rivers, Lou was swimming across the icy water on his crocodile skin. Behind him trailed two of his brethrens, both of which are the best in his rank. Boosted skills, sharpened sense, and hardened will across each battle they fought, they were, nonetheless his most trustful, and fearsome guards.

The snow had covered most of the lands on both sides of the river. The water would have been chilling on winter, but being the toughest of their own kind, it feels just like taking a morning walk in the breeze.

When it comes to killing, Lou _is_ a dangerous person, a bounty hunter with a lot of henchmen under his control. His ears will only listened on money, while his weapons will fight for his own thrill. Things went very easy for him. Being the toughest opponent in the swamp, taking over an entire route of cargos was like taking candy from a baby. The tasks were no different for him, wether they are large scale village raiding, to a small assassination, he would merely break a sweat. Worse, for those who happened to be in the swamps, they were under his net.

But he never would have known that today _was_ a bump in his life.

It started when a hunched, hooded person came to him - _cocky _as Lou described him, offering the croc a preposition that would "scourge the past for unlimited gold", as it was described. At first, Lou sees it as a joke, and dismissed him with a flick of his hands. However, his opinion soon changed rapidly when he was informed by few of his henchmen, that the thing the stranger speaks of, is based on an old tale, passed down by generations. The place the stranger seeks, holds true for its name. But, none ever trespassed, for they are afraid of paying up with their own lives, but in a luxurious exchange of endless wealth.

But Lou wasn't like anyone, his lust for wealth often plunge him into the eyes of the authorities. He doesn't care, as long as the rewards paid off, the danger he met, he likes to describe them as "child's play".

All he needed to do is to obtain some old relic – 'outdated old fart' as he preferred to describe the thing. The money the client offered, is definitely over the rate. Many bandits and mercenaries will be dying to take up the job. However, there is something about this promise that made him unsure. Will he really ended up with unlimited wealth, or all this is just a fraud…

Travelling down the river, he spotted the promised meeting area, and his client was already standing there under the grooves alongside the river. The moment he reached the shore, the eyes were on him. Apparently, whoever this guy is, it didn't bother him that he is dealing with a dangerous criminal.

_He came alone? _Thought Lou as he saw no one else except for the client himself. _Good…._

Leaping his way onto the watery earth, Lou tore open the silence with a loud, angry snare. "You didn't tell me I was facing a group of assassins! I lost three men in that fight!"

His client remained calm even though Lou's teeth were staring at him. "I am sorry to hear that. But I must say, I never would had expected another group of people being there by night."

"They were expecting us!" The crocodile roared. "We were ambushed!"

"Really?"

"You didn't set us up, did you?" Lou challenged, finger pointing at him.

"Ridiculous," his client snorted, "I only wished to get my hand on that fragment. Never will I send another group to stop you. That makes no different in stopping myself, would I?"

The croc remained silence. He didn't seem to buy it. Even if the fiery eyes were on him, the client standing in front of him still remained as calm as a cucumber. He's impressed, to say the least.

"Speaking of which," his client continued. "Did you get it?"

"No," Lou shifted his stares into the nearby river. "We lost it in the middle of the fight. My men were interrupted before they could get to me."

The figure in front of him nodded. "Well then, I suppose you might want to give it another try."

Being a demanding mercenary himself, Lou was not an easy going person. "That will only cost you more," said the croc with a wicked grin. "Doubled if the risk is high."

What he received was a wave in the air. "Fine, fine." The client said. "But right now, someone else might have picked it up. I heard about the wreckage at the market alley this morning. Stop the other progress, and focus on getting back this fragment first. I will pay you double this time. Kill anyone if necessary. Just get the fragment for me."

_Damn.. _Lou raised an eyebrow. _This guy is a walking money bag!_

**_CHAPTER END_**

* * *

Okay, comparing to my previous work, The Masters of Claws is humor based, while The Eclipse is downright emotional. This story will be the balance between this two. lol. Personally, I believe you all can get what the story is going to be. Yep. It's pretty much relic hunting. The old game never dies. On further note, Lou is a new character I specially make up for this story. He is my OC, but he is as new to me as it is to you.

ANd Happy New Year to all of you.


	2. Who's Your Enemy?

Disclaimer: Don't Own Kung Fu Panda, end of story

Author's Note: Alright, this takes up a bit of introduction to the story. I hope some of the questions can be answered here. I am slowly expanding the story line as I go. Other than that, I have nothing to say. Except that I really really really really wanted to watch Rapunzel/Tangle. . Other than that. Hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

**WHO'S YOUR ENEMY?**

It's been a while since Shifu had started staring at the object on his table. The scroll in which he was handed by the town guards proved little help than it should. All that is written in the paper, other than listing down every single detail describing the scene of the massacre, it gives little impression or clues that leads to the presents of the relic.

_Of course, _he frowned, _I am not a person that is good at investigating crime scene. Or at the least, someone who can picture the whole sequence with just the left overs…_

The scroll was written with strong impression – probably by a rhino. As for the contents, it only leads him into conclude that the people involved in the fight are probably from outside the village.

_Bandits? _He raised an eyebrow. _In here? How did they get through the guards...? _

He scratched his head. _Well, whoever they are, luckily there is no villagers harmed._

But having the thoughts that the outsiders can start a fight _inside _their village without waking anyone… It really spook him.

_It's quite pointless to worry about this for now._ He carefully brushed the scroll aside, and held up the relic for a closer examination. _I hope they didn't bring up this piece for its purpose..._

Even though it was only a piece of something, he knew those carvings himself. For once, he never thought he would be seeing it in his life. Maybe it was part of his destiny? Should he keep it till the day he's gone? Having these thoughts sent chills down his very bone. He really wished someone could just break in and snatch it out of his hand.

_Darn. I am too old for another keepsake._ He sighed deeply._ Having passed down the role to keep the Dragon Scroll alone, it feels like eternity even for a few weeks!_

On the surface of the stone, he noticed carvings of what looked like a part of a greater illustration. He can see from this carving that it is the leg of a creature. The body itself has scales from what he could judge, and a very long tail.

"Dragon…" He murmured alone. "Should be. Don't tell me it's a lizard." He heard himself laughing in a very weak tone.

If his guesses were correct. This stone, which he now held is part of the key to a tomb, a place where the ancient lies untouched. At there, lies infinite wealth and existence of a greater _power…_

'_The power that intoxicate people'_, as he remembered described by Oogway. _'People give in just because they want it. Not because it made them stronger, because it fulfills them as a whole.'_

The old sage also told him that there are four of these fragments in total, hidden throughout the Valley of Peace. Although the exact hidden locations were never told, the tortoise said, however, that they were hidden in respect opposition to one another: North, South, East, West of the valley...

The Jade Palace was nonetheless, located at the North of the valley. This fragment within his grasp, was found near the market alley, a location not far from the Jade Palace itself. With that, conclusion came quick to him, that this fragment should belong to the North part.

_Weird, _Shifu thought_, and here I thought it would be hidden in the Jade palace… _

As he had gone deeper and deeper into thoughts, a knock on his door forcefully pulled him back into reality.

"Master Shifu!"

_Zheng?_ He sighed, _w_h_at is it now? Can't he just... Whatever.._

"Yes?" He could feel his teeth grinding among themselves.

"The new magistrate wanted to see you."

* * *

The morning sunrise now turned into midday. The snow covered the whole area in white as brilliant of sun light bathed the place with white silver. Chilling would be the best word to describe the essence. The palace was a quiet place to be before a goose came over, grumbling continuously as he paced up the thousand stairs.

Unfortunately for his luck, as Shifu happened to coincide within his track, the master was instantly overwhelmed by a series of complaints. The goose seemed to be over his mind, his voice raises a pitch in every word. It was a disturbance to anyone. Although most of the yelling fell on deaf ears, Shifu still managed to make out a few things clear.

One, the goose was in trouble. _Of course, why else would he be so hysterical?_

Two, he was a farmer, since he kept mentioning things about 'my farm house'.

_Then…_

_What was that again? _Shifu is struggling inwardly as he tried to concentrate his thoughts for the goose, who was oblivious of his own grumbling.

Sighing, Shifu massaged his head as he felt a headache coming. By all means, he wasn't in a mood to hear another guy's problem, since he was already handful of problems himself. Hell, he feared his head would explode in any moment.

Right before the headache come, he spotted his student, Master Tigress walking by over a distance.

_Thanks the heaven! _

"Master Tigress," called Shifu, drawing her attention as he speaks.

Knowing nothing to do, the feline only walked towards her master, half dazed, and definitely filled with suspenses. "Master?"

"I have a request to keep at the magistrate's place," said Shifu, "wouldn't you mind if you can hear his problem out for me?" He finished with a friendly smile.

_No, that's a cunning grin._ Tigress managed to hide a frown.

Hard to reject her master's request as usual, she nodded. "Alright, Master."

"Thank you."

The grand master then leaves the scene in a hurry, jogged down the stairs he went; while the goose and tiger only watched quietly as he disappeared down the Thousand Steps.

"Sooo..." Tigress turned to the goose, trying to break the ice with a cheap interval, "anything you wanted to share?"

The goose came into his sense after a pause with an "Oh", and start off everything from the beginning. "This morning I woke up I saw my barn was totally ransacked it's so _horrible_! The house is totally turned upside down and, and, and _when_ I was in the middle of sending my goods here, my delivery cart was attacked by bandits! Bandits I tell you! I was lucky to be alive!"

"Bandits?" Tigress raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, black robed. Lots of them!" The goose began dumping everything out in a mess. "They came like dark night pouring out of the jungle!"

"Calm down, where were you attacked?"

"The route to the eastern farms!" The goose chirped. "That's where I lived of course! I was bringing tons of cottons and wheat from my farm! I am telling you, I never would have thought that the bandits would choose to attack a cargo full of farm stocks!"

"Neither do I," Tigress murmured. There was a quick thought on piecing the reasons into a picture. But she stopped as soon as she started. Possible explanation is that… well, they are bandits for heaven sake. They just do whatever they want, and whenever they want it.

"What did they steal?" She continued.

"They… what?" quacked the goose.

Clearing her throat, Tigress patiently repeated her question again. "What did the bandits steal?"

It took the goose a moment to process her question. And when he did, he swung his arms in the air for his next answer. "Nothing," said him like he is introducing something very _mystical_ to her.

Inevitably, a frown quickly overrides Tigress's expression. Half of her says she was wasting her time, while another half of her wanted to pawn this goose so badly. There was a burst of laughter not far behind, which she instantly recognized the voices. "I heard that." She gritted out through her teeth, loud enough to let the _others_ know.

Putting her hands on her hips, Tigress exclaimed, "And I would _appreciate_ it _if_ you start being helpful anytime now, guys!"

* * *

Heading towards the magistrate's place, Shifu can't stop himself wondering why the guy would want to see him at this moment.

_Things do seemed quiet until this morning. _He thought. Normally, he was not an outgoing person. This request, however emphasized on meeting him alone in privacy – at the magistrate's house. Why would he rather ask the grand master, a not-so-outgoing-person to go there is a question. Why didn't the magistrate just come alone to the Jade Palace? Of course, he can assume the magistrate was lazy. But rather, Magistrate Tao was an active person. He is a bear himself, got quite an age but was never beyond Shifu. The reason he become the magistrate was because of his modesty.

Tao is a wise man. His will and efficiency in handling complicated stuff are the main reasons he was personally handpicked by Shifu as the magistrate. Though being honest and strictly on the law, Tao is still an easy going person. They rarely met each other much, considering the fact that he was running the Jade Palace on top of the mountain, while Tao ran the Valley of Peace _below_ the mountain. They had contacted sometimes, just him sending information regarding the condition of the Valley of Peace to Shifu. Normally its plain news: burglar, new constructions, new laws enforcement, trading partners, security. Etc.

Honestly, Shifu started to be _bored_ by the repetitions.

Anyhow, something's up and running this time. And he could only guess that it had something to do with the morning event.

* * *

With the sun behind the clouds in the sky, the town was starting to buzz with life as people started their daily activity in the valley. Nevertheless, one of the weapon smiths in the valley had already opened his shop long before dawn. Today is a very interesting day for him. Someone close is paying a visit to his shop. However, when will the visit be, he never knew.

Sitting on a bench made of recycled woods, the weapon shop owner, an ocelot named Zhan, quietly polished the fine edge of his latest creation. As a normal weapon smith, he has an exceptional brain for discovery – as described by the folks around. And indeed, they had spoken the truth. Other than just forging weapons, he has a uncontrollable passion towards making side arms such as traps, crossbows and even newer weapons that had yet to be revealed. Each weapon he made draws customer from all corners; customer such as bandits too.

Of course, he knew the dealing has to be made in privacy. It was kind of funny when the outlaws had to send him a piece of note just to show their interest. The notes are usually written in a very interesting poor language, having requested him to bring out all the listed items to somewhere isolated just so the trading could proceed. Yes, surprisingly, he had been running business at bamboo forest, grooves, and even swamps.

And when it comes to dealing with these dangerous customers, his life would had been threatened long ago. However, things are quite different for him, for he had someone protecting from the top ranking outlaws. Yes, as lucky as he is, Zhan has a very powerful ally with him among the criminals.

"Is that your new invention?" A sudden voice intrudes the silence.

Zhan instantly recognized that strong feminine voice. Calmly, he held back his head, and continued examining his weapon in his grips. Her arrival had been sudden, but just as he had anticipated. She never knocked, nor did she warned, but he was already get used to it. He has to, because that's what she does for her living.

"Not really a new one," he answered. "I just altered some of the design."

"Oh, what does it do?"

Out of the shadows, the visitor revealed herself into the open as a female lynx. Dressed in black cloak with a hood over her head, she is mostly famous for her nickname called 'The Black Crow', and definitely well known for her mass assassinations. While some would go beyond stories exaggerating her as a crow that feasts on the corpses she killed, some will prefer describing her as an 'invisible night killer'; just like a crow blending in the darkness.

Truth is, she is called 'Crow' just because she purposely painted her daggers black, resulting in what looked like black feathers from afar. Tales of her wiping out an entire bandit encampment overnight single handedly, and taking out the Emperor's royal guard posts earned her quite a respect among the outlaws. Whether they are pure dumb luck, or a cursed fool's faith, she had made her place among the high ranked assassins nonetheless.

Now looking at her straight, Zhan handed the item to her. "It shots explosive dart rather than poison dart.

"I used some of the powder from the explosive barrels."

"Intrigue," the lynx tilted the weapon around and around in hand. Frankly, the weapon he made was a simple combination of trigger sling shot with explosive fire cracker.

After noticing some wariness on her expression, Zhan can't resist asking, "What's the matter, Crow? You don't look so good today," said him, "What's up?"

The lynx stood there firmed, tilting her ear a bit as a natural reflex to any surprising question.

"Oh," she gave the item back to Zhan. "It's nothing. What makes you said that?"

The ocelot smirked. "I know that look every time when there is something bothering you."

Warily, the lynx shared a smile. "Guess you know too much."

"I usually pay attention to my _interest_," said Zhan slyly, causing the female to blush.

Admitting defeat, she let out a sigh and took a sit in front of him. "There is wreckage recently in the tavern," she blurted out, eyeing the floor.

Zhan nodded. The tavern, by what she meant usually pointed to the place where bandits and bounty hunters gathered for entertainment. He personally been there, but swear to Heaven never again will he took another step close. The assassin, however, usually went there to pick up information or even bounty to hunt. It is a very dangerous place for anyone, because everyone there is vicious criminal. Zhan kind of wanted to stop her from going there. But it never came out of his mouth, because she simply grew up there, for god sake. And she is as tougher as anyone there, with a lot of allies.

"Some guy came over and offered a very huge sum of award." The lynx continued.

"For what?" Zhan leaned forward.

"Searching for something, I'm not quite sure. " The assassin shook her head. "I heard it's a very small item. Everyone goes screaming for the bounty. They reap the offer letter off before I could see it."

"Really? Small item for a big reward," Zhan smirked. "How ironic.

"So you didn't get it," the ocelot sounded unimpressed, "So what?"

The lynx sighed, "From the way I heard, the offer promises infinite wealth, but with linkage to the past."

"You mean like raiding the ancient what-so-ever for money?"

The assassin nodded.

"You know who's it from?"

"I don't know either." the lynx finally stared into Zhan's eyes. "But from the way the offer is made, this _person_ is a very rich guy. Or at the least, probably someone from high authority, who knows."

"Yeah," Zhan laughed, "Guess we'll never know what stunts does those gentlemen gonna pull, right?"

**END OF CHAPTER**

* * *

A/N: The Black Crow... lol I know crow is black, but I just like the sound of 'black crow', geeky eh? Well, other than that, I got nothing much to add. Thanks for the read.


	3. The Past Beyond Our History

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own KFP

**Author's Note**: Alright. This is the part 3 of the chapter. I've been running parallel on my own comics, errands and this. I saw some views count in the second chapter. I don't know if it's a good news or not. But if you've your time reading through this chapter. Any feedback would be appreciate. Let me know what you think about the story so far. I've tried to polish the writings, but if there's still any mistakes, I apologize.

* * *

**THE PAST BEYOND OUR HISTORY**

Shifu waited in the meeting area, isolated from the outside in a small room. Sometimes, he wondered why he would even be here at this moment. The room had no windows, no decoration except a few chairs, separated in between by a rather plain working desk.

No much to see here, he thought, adding another reason for him to be bored. However, his boredom lifted quickly when he heard the door opened behind him.

"Sorry for your wait, Master Shifu." Magistrate Tao set through the door.

Shifu quickly bowed in polite. "It's okay, I didn't wait too long."

His words drew a chuckle from the magistrate, and they both shared a hearty grin.

"So ermm.." Shifu continued. "You called me for something urgent, I presumed?"

The magistrate took a few second to sip in his mind. "Why, of course, Master Shifu. Please, have a seat."

As Shifu slowly sank himself into one of the guest chairs, he thought he heard Tao locked the only door into the room. Question came quick, and his mind was rumbling with all sort of plans.

_What is he planning?_

"Locking the door?" Shifu asked without hesitate.

Tao only reply with a finger across his lips. Then, as clumsily as he did, Tao walked over and took his seat in front of Shifu. Dividing between them is an empty work desk.

"Shifu, what I am going to tell you, I wish you could keep it to yourself, and if it is convenient for you. You can tell your students as well."

"Urrhh…" Shifu murmured. _That's weird. _"Okay."

"Good," Tao nodded. "My family, Shifu" he began, "had been watching this valley ever since it started its baby steps. Out from the world we choose, we never left our eyes off its course."

Uncertain to where Tao was getting at, Shifu only nodded in respond.

"This valley," Tao continued, "is full of secrets, Master Shifu. Secrets that are too dark to be mentioned. Through generations, we, the Tao family had, dare I say, experienced most of these memories. We were told to keep our mouth shut. And yet today, I think someone wanted to bring this secret – one of the secrets - to the surface again."

Shifu chuckled. "What kind of secret? If it's history I think we would be best to know."

But Tao's eyes were serious. "I would say that is a very good point of view. Certainly, learning from our past is a great step ahead for a wider future." He leaned back on his chair. "But these secrets I speak off, might be too much to bear."

"Like what?" Shifu challenged. He too became curious.

Tao eyed at him silently across the table. Somehow, Shifu sensed the gears working behind his head.

"Remember the ten thousand soldiers who fought to defend the valley from bandit invasion?" Tao questioned.

"Yes," Shifu muttered. "They all dead aren't they? It's quite a tale to speak of in children's age. More like a legend to motivate patriotism."

"Indeed, indeed." The answer certainly correct, but Tao's eyes grew sharp on him. Leaning forward from his chair, the magistrate now looked straight in his face, making him felt uneasy.

"Yes of course." The bear said. "But where do you think those bodies were buried? You see_, Ten thousands_ is a _very,_ _very_ large number …"

* * *

"Well, sir." Tigress took a deep breath, trying hard to maintain her fake smile. "Is there anything else you wanted to share?" She felt a tremble in her voice.

_Keep it steady, Tigress. You're just being helpful. Helpful is your nature… YOU love to be helpful.._

The goose thought for a moment. "Urmmm… I supposed not."

"Okay then, if you don't mind-"

"Well yes, yes there is one more thing."

_What is it? _Tigress shut her eyes and drew a quick breath. _Temper, Tigress, temper! _

"Y-yes?" She gritted out, trying hard to force a friendly smile. She thought she could felt a twist at the end of her lips.

"I found one letter written in an unknown language," said the goose. "It was dropped by one of the attackers when they ambushed me."

Curiosity instantly overtook her agitation. "Did you happen to bring it here?" she asked.

"Why, yes," the goose chirped. His hands began digging in his backpack.

_Oh finally. _Tigress rolled her eyes, _Something to top off the annoyance. I bet whatever weird languages it is, Shifu would-_

"_What the hell is this?" _She shot out as soon as she saw the letter handed out to her, her eyes went as big as a cup. _Almost_.

Her friends grouping behind the building didn't seem to treat patient anymore longer. All of them rushed out of their hidings, and squeezed their faces in front of the letter, hoping to take a better look.

* * *

As Shifu plodded on the icy route back to the Jade Palace, he began to question his doing. There are moments in his life that were even more bizarre than this. But somehow they never failed to surprise him with a different line of facts.

"When the soldiers died," Tao's voice rang in his head. "their belongings, as well as their … _luxuries _were buried along with them._" _

Shifu's ears raised a pitch. He retracted back into his seat. "What? You're talking about treasure hunt?"

"No, no," the bear protested. "These are the less compared to what I am going to tell you."

Silence seized Shifu. It struck him like a brick.

The bear cleared his throat, allowing Shifu time to calm himself down. "When the thousands died, the history of this valley died along with them."

"What? You sure?" challenged Shifu in disbelief.

"Yes, that's all I can put it," Tao pressured. "Now tell me, what's the history before these thousand soldiers…"

"Well," Shifu murmured, "There aren't any, they are the first generation of the valley..."

_Wait… something's not right. _ He heard Tao chuckled before him. And damn the hell if he didn't start questioning this _fact _at this very moment.

"Or so they speak," Tao announced, but oddly he decided to not venture into the subject further. He changed topic instead, about a book. "Time before us, they used to kept a book with them. Allowing them to keep track of the important events scattered in this valley, as well as some of the journals written by some ranked leaders.

Tao leaned forward. "Everything is in there, Shifu. Or at least, _part_ of _our_ history."

The village was still far from his view. Shifu had yet to exit the grooves section of the valley either. The magistrate's house is located far away from the village. For his reason, Tao only give that he wished to be in peace from all the work.

Thought began to race in his mind as he continued to travel down the clear pavement.

"What's this?" asked Shifu when Tao suddenly handed him an oval shaped plate. It was well worn from ages, with a lot of scratch marks here and there on the surface. At the center of the flats, stood a needle liked pillar.

Tao took a moment to think. "I believe this had something to do with locating the Chamber of the Sleepers."

"You mean... T-Tomb?" Shifu's voice cracked. "You want me to break into the _tomb _of our ancestors?"

Part of him says Tao is out of his mind. But part of him says that's was not exactly what Tao wanted. And the later somehow proved to be closer.

"My family had been keeping two of these for years," Tao explained. "But one of them was stolen three days ago."

Shifu felt a surge through his stomach. "So you think someone else is after the tomb?"

The magistrate nodded. "And better yet, they maybe after the book of history.

"Even if I am a magistrate with authority power," Tao added. "I don't think I will be able to find a fitting person than you to help." A smile can be seen on his face. "Would you accept my request on this, Master Shifu?"

Alone on the pavement, Shifu continued to exam the plate as he walked. Even if Tao had explained how the thing worked for him, he was still inside his own fog.

_The shadow of the sun will show you the exact spot. _Tao explained. _Four fragments, four different times to exist. All into one intersect._

Although Shifu wanted to ask more, their conversations were interrupted when a servant of the villa knocked on the door, saying that someone came here to see him.

The moment he exit the room, he spotted the visitor – a grey fox, dressed in deep blue, tall, but not muscular. He was probably at the age of thirty. From the look of his outfit, the fox may be working as a trader.

_Some trader he is, _Shifu thought. For a trader to be meeting the magistrate face to face, it's not usual.

Suddenly, he heard a rush in the nearby bushes. Hiding the plate behind his back, Shifu made a quick turn to the source of the sound. The moment he came into view, he saw a shuriken hovering over the air, coming towards him. He dodged it, but merely having his throat cut off by the edge.

A few more shuriken come flying out of the bush, and Shifu quickly flexed in a lightning speed, dodging them all before rolling off the road. The moment he was on his foot, he made a dash behind a tree.

He stood there quietly, leaning his back on the trunk while he peaked on the opposing bushes.

Someone was there. He knew it. Yet when the shuriken stopped flying, the rushing sounds stopped.

"Come out, whoever you are!" Shifu shouted.

For a moment, he thought he was an idiot telling his assassins to show themselves. But then, they _actually _responded.

"Of course." A tone said, followed by soft chuckle afterward.

The voice is quite clear despite the distance between them; until he realized that it actually came from above him. It was too late. He looked up, only to see a fist came smashing into his view.

The pain left him unbearable. His muscle went jolted for the moment. He quickly lost his sense of balance. Crashing down to the snows beneath him, his vision soon blurred out into darkness.

* * *

The six students were sitting around the kitchen table, eyeing everything that move around them. The letter was laid on the middle like a flat sheet. None had touched it since this afternoon. The silence continued to last like an eternity. Frankly speaking, they were worried because their master hadn't shown up after he left. Po had decided to start the cooking, saying "It's better to worry without starving."

By the time the red horizon reached into total darkness, Tigress shoot up from her seat.

"That's it," she said. "I'm going to find him."

"Me too," said Viper.

"I'm with ya," Mantis chirped.

"That won't be necessary."

The familiar voice instantly raised a pitch in their senses, cutting out their thoughts as it bolted into their ears. Turning to the exit, they quickly spotted their grand master.

"Master Shifu!" shouted the gang at once.

"Oh man, where have you been!" Po joyfully asked. But as quick as the joy came, it left. "What's wrong with your face?"

"This?" Shifu motioned over the bandage on his nose. "Broken nose."

Tigress rushed forward, leading him to the chair. "Where did you get that from?" She sounded horrified.

"Relax," Shifu said. "I am okay."

His students exchanged a look at each other, practically not buying it.

During dinner, Shifu filled them in with the events he had with Tao. Most of them just keep exchanging look at each other, showing signs of disbelief. When he finished the story of his ambush, Shifu pulled out the oval plate.

"They didn't come here to steal this, however," said Shifu, putting the plate on the table. "They stole the fragment instead. They knew I had it with me."

"So," Mantis took a long around. "You want us to stop them from reaching the tomb?"

"I guess so. So far I haven't thought of any other way yet."

"Wait, master," Tigress shot in. "Is the book really that important to be stayed unknown? It's our history anyway. We deserved to know."

The question fell in silence. Shifu had been thinking this for a long time. He may assume that the history contained some twist or turns that would cause a lot of political issue. But they are living in a valley, there is no way political issue would exist here. And better yet, there merely had any mountains of authorities here. If eliminating the fact that political issue existed. What else should they be dealing with? Maybe it was the treasures after all?

So the only answer he could give now is…

"I don't know."

Tigress raised an eyebrow.

Then, another question came from Po. "We had a tomb here? In this valley, really?"

_That's a damn good question._ Shifu thought inwardly. He may have lived in this valley for years, but he never saw or heard any existence of a tomb, especially when it contains ten thousands corpses. Now, ten thousands corpses meant a _huge_ number. The population in the valley doesn't even reach half of that. Maybe because they were dead, and this is what left of their ancestors?

Shifu shook his head. "What matter the course is, it seemed that Tao wanted to stop the secret from getting out."

Again, another stare exchanged among his students.

"Whoever is going to find the rest of the fragments, they need the sunlight." Shifu held the plate up, "because the shadow will be the only guidance to the rest of the fragments, and to our tomb."

"They got their first one now." Tigress said. "Let's hope the others remain untouched."

"If they had, we can always trace the location," said Shifu. "Tao mentioned, when the sunlight hit the exact spot, the area will sparkles. And that will be our signal.

"We may not know the exact location, but the time of the fragments to show themselves are very different to one another. So scattering yourselves over a large area might be able to cover a good portion of the possible hiding place."

"You know how to use that thing, Master Shifu?"

_Another damn good question,_ Shifu felt a sweat behind his head as he frowned at the wooden plate in his hands. "No."

The rest of his students dropped their jaw.

"Well," Po coughed. "Try this one first." He handed Shifu the letter which they got from the goose earlier. "You know what it says? It was like… Found after the bandits raided his home and his cart."

Shifu stared blankly at Po, before turning his attention to the letter.

"Please say yes," Po started biting his lips.

Shifu looked through the letter. His eyes began darting from top to bottom. He started to sweat as the pressure built within him. His students certainly noticed his cold sweat. Whatever the letter was saying, it can't be good from his expression.

Yet an inward silliness and a very desperate miscalculation, a very nerve breaking answer came forth. "No."

**END OF CHAPTER**

* * *

**A/N**: So... That's part of it. Ten Thousand Corpses, could be just under your feet. And you don't know it... Please Read and Review.


	4. The Black Crow

**Disclaimer**: Don't Own KFP

**Author's Note**: Part 4. Kinda rushed in the clean up. But I hope the pace is still going smoothly. ;) Enjoy.

* * *

**THE BLACK CROW**

Through the icy swamps, a group of crocodiles were gathering under a huge tree. Most of them were yelling at each other for a fight, depicting their natures of aggression. Some of them wanted to gain authority controls, but were quickly overwhelmed into a thrashing fight. As the snows began to rain from above, the zone became a living chaos. The mercenaries are trying to prove who's the toughest among them. A circle began to form, enveloping whoever's taking the fight. And they are chanting names. However, little by little, coldness began to grab them as they continued to stay there.

"Silence!" roared Lou as he reached the scene, "I want total silence!"

As soon as he gave the commands, the chaos stopped.

Standing next to Lou was the client, who seemed to be taking the messy situation quite comfortable.

"You got the fragment?" His client asked, as the attention began to grow on him.

Lou shook his head. "No, but they did." He pointed toward two cloaked figures.

The client look confused, although he had seen them before, but he was quite surprised of their involvement.

"Eh?" grinned the client, "interesting. Do I get an explanation for this?"

"We heard about the party," said one of the figures as she threw the fragment over. The client caught it in the air. "And we wanted _in_."

"Really?" the client smiled, brushing his fingers on the fragment as he slowly enjoyed the carvings. "Welcome aboard."

* * *

Time passes quickly as the day turns into nightfall. The moon shone brightly above the clouds, illuminating the streets apart with a milky layer of light. Deep within the Valley of Peace, the shops had been long closed. The candles were blown, the windows were shut. Life seemed to be lifted from the valley as soon as the moon sets into its rightful place.

Moving along the streets, six warriors hurried into a small alley. They quietly travelled down the road, towered by wooden street houses as they go. The cloths hanging above the windows shifted with the winds, occasionally drawn their reflexes into an occasional stops. But after confirming that they were not being followed, the gang moved on.

Sometimes later, they reached their destination, standing face to face with a back door made of wood.

"This should be the place," Crane examined the door.

"I'll be damned," said Tigress. "Never thought I will be seeing this guy again."

"Oh come on," said Po. "He is nice."

Tigress snorted. "It's not him I am worry about. It's his _girlfriend_."

Crane shrugged. "We need her help anyway. Might as well try."

Before Po started to knock on the door, they heard conversations coming from behind the door. Without mistaking it, there was a feminine voice in the mixture.

Tigress rolled her eyes. "She's here."

"Unless he's talking to himself," Mantis chuckled.

"With two different voice?" Monkey whistled, "that would be freakin."

"_Will you keep it down?_" hissed Viper.

"Alright," said Po, twisting his lips into a smile. "Smile everyone."

Three times he knocked on the door, and immediately the conversation came to a halt. There was a silence, and Po began to knock again.

"Coming!" A male voice responded.

Within another minute, the little view hole on the door swung open with eyes behind the bars. "Who's there?"

Po waved his hand, "Yo sup," he chanted, "Dragon warrior here."

"What the..?" was a confused reply the gang received, "wait till I open this door."

Soon, the door on the opposite started to unlock. They could hear the tickling sounds of the gears and chains being pulled over on the other side.

When the door swung opened, the gang had already put on a friendly smile. "Good evening, Zhan."

The ocelot in front of them remained silence, jaw dropped for a few minutes before his senses came around.

"What are you guys doing here in this late hour?" the ocelot clearly was still in a mess, exchanging look with them. "Something's wrong with the training equipment? You know that the shop is closed, right?"

"We know," Mantis nodded.

"Look," Po stepped in. "We need your help. It's…. quite urgent if you had to know."

Although Zhan was still in a state of thinking, the genuine looks on their faces made his decision.

"Alright, okay," he swung the door open. "Get in."

* * *

The house was cramped with scrap metals and a lot of unknown equipments. Nets and beams filled with dangling weapons hung from above, and the gang had to watch their every step as they motioned slowly behind the ocelot. The house wasn't well lighted, it was dark and narrow. Until he led them to a wider room, Po keep head butting into beams.

"Ouch," yelled him as he hits another beam, "how do you live in this place?"

"I…" Zhan murmured, "I don't know, I just live here, and that's it."

Nevertheless, this weapon smith they are seeing, is famous for his pack rat behavior. Of course, while people claim that he's collecting stuffs for his own creations, others however, claim that being a trap specialist himself, his own house IS a living cage sized trap.

"You don't want to venture too deep into that freaky old house," shared a goose of his own experience when the gang is seeking direction, "Just make sure you use the proper way in, WITH HIM KNOWNING IT. The house is spooked.. it's alive, I tell you! Alive!"

_It's alive…_ Po catches himself repeating the lines in his head. The more he thinks about it, the harder it gets to took a step further.

"Kitchen," said Zhan when they reached a room lighted by candles. "Wait here while I get some chairs. _Don't_ touch anything, okay?"

The gang nodded in agreement.

"_It's alive…" _whispered Po spookily, earning an elbow from Tigress at his stomach.

A table stood in the middle of the room, accompanied by two chairs.

By the time Zhan vanished into the corners, Po began to wonder the other personal that they were expecting.

"Where is she?" Po whispered to Tigress, in which he received another elbow at his waist.

"_Shhh!"_

Soon, Zhan came around with additional chairs, but only two of them by the time. "Sorry, it's all I got." He smiled sheepishly. "Didn't expect many guests, you know?"

"Don't worry," said Viper with a smile. "We won't stay here long."

"Alright then," Zhan took a seat around the table, facing them like a dealer waiting to be dealt. "So, what's up?"

Immediately, Po reached out the letter to him. "First, we need translation. Do you know this language?"

Zhan took the paper, and ran a quick scan over it. Sure enough, it didn't take him long to admit.

"I don't know. What makes you think I do?" He put the letter down, giving himself a few thoughts. "But…" He eyed back up at them, looking as if he is trying to read their mind.

_Come on, come on, _Viper can't stop feeling her tail shaking, _it had to work…_

Honestly, the six warriors were hoping that things _would go_ _according to plan_.

_Po, don't mess it up now!_ Tigress bit her lips, _Curse it, he's looking this way_.

Monkey felt his finger tickling behind his back. _Will Po even remember the line?_

At that very moment, Shifu's words began to repeat itself inside their head.

* * *

"You guys know the weapon smith? Zhan?" asked Shifu as he held up his tea cup.

"Yeah," answered Tigress, "The yellow ocelot, right? The one that took care of our training equipment.

"What about him?"

"I…."Shifu paused to catch himself a moment to think. He looked like he's going through a hard time phrasing the words though. "Heard rumors that... he had an ally from the dark."

"What, seriously?" Viper gasped. "W-wait, do you think he ordered people to assault you?"

Shifu shook his head. "No, but I believe he had the connection that can help us in this matter."

"Ermmm, Master Shifu, if you don't mind," said Crane, "By 'this matter', do you mean the letter?"

"Yes," Shifu held out the paper, "this writings came from the bandits afterall. So, maybe.. Just _maybe_… only those who are one of them, knows what it says.."

"And you want us to ask him to translate?"

"Actually, not him," said Shifu, "his ally, an assassin."

Everyone gasped.

"He had an assassin as an ally?" Tigress's expression stiffened. "Do the town folks know of this? Aren't we supposed to do something about it?"

"No," Shifu halted, "We can't be so quick on our jumps, Master Tigress. So far, I didn't get any complains or belief that he is dangerous to us.

"So, I might as well let this case loosen for now. Not until I get an initial that he is becoming more of a threat. That is."

The gang exchanged a look among themselves. Tigress frowned. "I don't know, Master Shifu."

"Owh come on," said Viper, "he's a nice guy."

"Oh yeah?" Tigress smirked, "Didn't you heard about the phrase 'knife behind smiles'?"

Viper tilted her head, "I believe there are a lot of people out- _IN _here who had friends from the dark. It's not about what you possess. It's about how you use them."

The grand master smiled, "Very well said, Master Viper." Earning a bow from the serpent in return, but an arm fold from the Tiger.

"Knives are sharp, people had it everywhere," Shifu added, "Foods are cut using knives, ropes are cut using knives, but as long as it's not in the hand of people with bad intension. It will be fine."

The gang nodded.

"Anyway, I will take his connection to the outlaws fully under my responsibility," Shifu reassured, "if he's to endanger the people in the valley." He let out a sigh, "I will deal with him personally."

"Alright," said Po, "So, we go pay this guy a visit?"

"Diddo."

"But be wary," Shifu cut in, "Zhan is quite intelligent for his age. He knows danger when he senses it. Try not to rush him in making his decision."

"But Master," said Tigress, "you said so yourself, it is his _secret_. He's not going to reveal to _us_ just like that."

"So how are we gonna confront him?" said Mantis with a grin, "I got a suggestion though."

"I think I'll pass that one," Crane snorted with disgust. "What do you think, Master Shifu?"

"Easy," Shifu grinned, "just say…"

* * *

"Shifu requested your…" Po hesitated, and took a confused look with his gang. "Heartily aid."

Zhan retorted with disbelief, "he said that?"

The gang nodded stupidly.

From his expression, they knew what Zhan was asking himself. When Po wanted to give suggestion of calling _her_, he received another elbow on his arm from Tigress.

Somehow, to their surprise Zhan noticed the scene before him.

He smirked. "Well, I am guessing that you might already know which this language belongs to, before you even came to see me, right?"

A shiver came over them, like a mouse being pulled out from its hole. Zhan is smart, and will be the smartest guy they ever know.

Shifu had spent hours going through the scrolls to verify the language. Of course, he didn't find any traces of them in history writing. And it came to him that it possibly belongs to the language from the bandits themselves. "Other than calling it language," said Shifu. "I rather call it codes."

Letting out a deep sigh, Zhan leaned in, "And I am not really the one who's expected to translate this, right?"

The gang nodded simultaneously.

_Gosh, this guy reads mind! _Tigress bits her lips.

"Great," Zhan let out a deep sight after an awkward silence, "They know you're here, girl."

The room fell very quiet after the last breath. Slowly, Zhan held the paper in the air beside him, "Translation needed."

Silence followed, and the gang watches as Zhan's hand motioned the paper in the empty air.

First, they see nothing but total darkness clouded behind the ocelot. Then suddenly, like a ghost from the shadow, a figure came emerged from the void behind Zhan. Her dark furred hand grabbed the paper in the air, slowly revealing herself into the light.

The gang was alarmed. Each took a step back as her appearance was sudden.

"Wow…" Po cheered.

She was exactly who the gang have been searching for. The lynx wasn't wearing her cloak as people usually see. Her leather armor and spotted fur were lightened under the dim light of the candle, like a criminal showing her true identity. Her amber eyes shines fiercely under the darkness.

"Oh yeah… guys," said Zhan with a little embarrassment, "Meet… The Black Crow."

**END OF CHAPTER**

**

* * *

Author's Note: **Gahh... I need to end it here, because it will drag on afterwards.


	5. RED IN THE WHITE

**Disclaimer**: I own no Kung Fu Panda as it is owned by Dreamwork

**A/N: **Well, it's been a while. This is the fifth chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

**RED IN THE WHITE**

The gang gave him a disbelieving look. To which Zhan in return added some more clarification, "Black Crow is her signature name. Not her real name, a'right?

"And Crow…" he turned to the assassin, motioning his hands over the jade warriors, "The Furious Five," and pointed at the panda, "_and_ the Dragon Warrior."

"Nice to meet you!" said Po, raising his hand, "Po Ping here! Po for short."

As cheerful as his greeting is, the lynx didn't give any response.

Seeing the void of silence between them, Zhan decided to lessen the pressure, "Urrmmm," Zhan tilted his head, "She's ah…. Not so fond of a crowd. Especially with…" He leaned forward, eyes fixed at the gang, "You know?"

"Oh," Po raised an eyebrow, "okay."

"We understand."

"Alright, now that the introduction is over," Zhan leaned back on his chair, "Let's get down to business. Hey Crow, think you can translate this for them?"

Slowly, the lynx took her time going through the letter. Silence followed as they wait for her to finish reading. Tigress can felt her grips trembled nervously as she waits. There's something else with this assassin. She can't explain why, but she can sense it.

_Is it fear? I've felt this before, is it the killer aura? _She hides her trembling hands behind, _this woman give me the same bad feeling when I faces the Wu Sisters._

"You might wanna read that out loud though," Zhan stated, breaking the silence suddenly.

The lynx eyed at him for a second, and Zhan responded with a playful grin.

While the rest of the gang remained rooted in their own excitement, Mantis and Monkey however gave a sly look at each other after noticing the signs of the two cat's expressions .

The lynx translated the letter's content silently in her mind, before she started to speak in a rough feminine voice. "It is in the farm house with the red roof. The fragment is located under the supporting beam with a small crystal ball on it. Break the beam, and the item you seek is inside."

She paused when Po lifted a finger. "Oh, so they knew where to find it."

"Of course they do," Tigress said impatiently.

Zhan glanced over the paper, "I don't think that's all of it though."

The lynx nodded. There was a hesitation to continue, but she seemed to ignore it soon. "Send the fragment to _Lou_ at the market alley before sunrise. The hunt will continue afterward. Signed, The Hollow."

By the time she finished, she received a mixture of stares from the crowd.

"Great," Mantis smirked. "It seemed that whoever wrote that letter is too dumb about keeping _name _mentioned_._"

"But hey, now we know the events are connected, right?" said Crane, "maybe they did get the fragment, but then get intercepted in the market?"

"You maybe right, Crane."

"But you know," Crane said, "we only know the name of the guy taking part, maybe Lou _is_ the mercenary hired, or maybe he is just a part of the group."

"What about just a delivery boy?"

"Doubtful," said Tigress, "If the fragment is to pass to him, he maybe someone important in the circle."

"I'll say," Viper giggled, "And The Hollow?"

"Sounds like someone special to me," Mantis turned towards Monkey, "What do you think?"

"The Hollow is just a nickname," Zhan interrupted, receiving the paper from the lynx. "People who offer bounty usually _preferred_ to keep their identity sealed.

"Right?" Zhan turned to the assassin beside him, earning a silent nod as a reply.

"At least we know the first spot now," said Crane. "It's in the goose's house, which comes from the East."

Tigress nodded. "That will only left us down to West, North, and South. Whoever they are, they may have gotten the first fragment, but we're still able to catch up _if_ that's the only thing they got for today."

"I Hope so-"

"Woah woah woah," Zhan waved in the air, "Start making sense, people."

"Look," Tigress stepped in, "someone is about to reveal a secret-

"History," corrected Mantis.

"Fine, history… which had been buried for dynasties."

"We don't know who," Crane continued, "But we need to stop him."

"Or… Them," Po said.

"Okay, did you just said 'we'?" Zhan gave them a look of disbelief, "It doesn't include me, right? And what kind of secret are you talking about?" Zhan tilted his head. "You guys look really psyched up by this thing, aren't you."

"Why not," Po replied, fist in the air, "It's the secret of the Valley of Peace! It's legendary!"

"But for whatever reason it should be remain untouched," Tigress replied, "we don't know."

"We had this same conversation with the grand master," Viper added, "He said it is best to let it remains untouched."

"Alright," Zhan leaned backward, looking as if he's trying to back out, "Okay then… but my part of the work is done, right? Can I get you something else?"

"_It is just as Master said,"_ whispered Mantis to Crane, _"He's very afraid of getting involved into trouble."_

"Well," Tigress shut her eyes, whispering at Crane behind Po's massive body, "Shifu still _wants_ him _in_, for whatever reason, I don't know… So we have to try."

The gang looked at each other, and ends their silent agreement in a nod.

There have been a quarrel wether or not to involve the ocelot merchant before. Shifu had promised to only kept secret among the masters, but in order to protect this secret, they need to know how to use the plate. And Zhan could be the only one that could figure it out, with luck.

"Actually, you might," Po chimed in. And from nowhere he took out an oval shaped wooden plate. "Unfortunately, in order to find that secret, we need to go across what looked like…" he paused. "A treasure hunt, said so in the mystical riddles."

"Relic hunt is more like it." Mantis continued.

"Yeah, fragments of a relic." Po laid the oval plate at the middle of the table. As soon as the item was placed onto the table, the light from the lamp above cast the pillar's shadow across the plate.

"What is this?" Zhan asked, leaning forward for a closer look.

"_The shadow of the sun will show you the exact spot", _chanted Tigress with as she eyed the shadow cast by the pillar.

"_Four fragments, four different times to exist," _chanted Viper accordingly.

"What? What? What?" Zhan hastily questioned, clearly in a mess.

"_All into one intersect._"

"Guys," Zhan sighed, "In a proper sentences? You're scaring me, ya know? It's like… something possesses you to say the same lines separately."

"Oh," said Po, "It's the ancient guidance on how to use this plate. We've been working on it for hours."

"Right..." Zhan smiled warily.

"So far, we do realize that we need to put it under the sun to get a shadow," said Mantis as he drifted into his own thought, "but what can we get from that?" He points at the needle liked shadow casted by the pillar. "It looked like… arrow?"

"A direction guide?" said Zhan, trying to catch up with their enthusiasm, "maybe its pointing something."

* * *

_Four fragments, four different times to exist. All into one intersect._

Shifu inhaled his breath deeply, and let out a sigh as he eyed the flickering candles surrounding the meditating room. There seemed to be no end to this matter they are looking to. There is no head, or tail. And they are lost in the middle of it.

The relics have been existed for maybe thousand of years, hell he knows to when it can be traced. It was scattered across the valley. The location was unknown, but someone managed to found out. And _it _seemed to awaken something….

"_What else could happened?_" murmured Shifu quietly under his lips.

Suddenly, the candles all gone out simultaneously as if they were put out by a strong wind that he couldn't felt. It took only a few second before Shifu realized what he is encountering. Shocked, he stumbled onto his feet, taking a few steps backward as he nearly fell over his ankle.

_What in the world_.._.!_

The door behind him was forced open by the storm outside. Shards of ices drifted into the room, within seconds, the room went from warming calm, to pitch black coldness.

Shifu felt a choke in his throat, _Bad omen…._

It was in the middle of their discussion when the gang heard a scream echoed at the night. As soon as they hear it, their fur was already at their edges.

"What was that?"

"Don't know," said Zhan sarcastically, "and I'm pretending I didn't hear that ear piercing scream."

"Someone is in trouble, Po!"

"Real trouble," said Crane, hastily recovered the plate from the table, "We're leaving."

"Ummmm…" The merchant tilted his head, "am I coming along?"

"No, stay _inside _your home, we will take care of it," commanded Tigress and turned towards her gang, "Let's go."

The moment they stepped out of the cozy place, they were quickly engulfed by snow storm. Piles of snow flakes covered their eyes within second, and they need to constantly brush them off to save their vision.

_A storm, since when did it hits?_

Far beyond the distant to the east, few blocks from where they were, they saw… a monstrous sea of fire consumming what was supposed to be the 3rd street resident in the Valley of Peace.

"Fire in the valley?" Viper's voice was very blur in the wind. "Where in the world did that come from?"

"COME ON!" Crane took the lead, walking ahead. The storm had disoriented his flight ability. "THE VILLAGE IS ON FIRE!"

"Wait!" Viper pointed to the east with her tail. "There is another fire there!"

Sure enough, nobody could miss it. The wooden houses on the other end of the valley were burning like hell in the cold night. Anyone could have seen the smoke and the dreadfully red colors spreading across the clouds.

"Two fire sites?" Po's jaw dropped. "Who the heck would do such a thing!"

"We better hurry! Viper, monkey, go with crane!" commanded Tigress. She then patted Po's shoulder roughly to get his blankly attention, "You and mantis, come with me!"

"We split here! Take care!"

"Let's GO!"

It was cold. Yet even below freezing temperature, they could feel the burning fire heating up the air. Snows continued to falls from the sky, wind never stopped picking up. Their vision were blurred, it is only their determination that keeps them going at that very moment.

Villagers had started to crowd at the scene. Some had already began putting out the fire, while some were staring in fright. Shouts and wails were drifted by the winds, cries and tears continued to moan as their beloved ones had never appeared. The scene was chaotic, even for a trained master, Tigress too had no idea where to began.

"Master Tigress?" called a pig as he spotted their arrival. "Thanks the heaven you're here!"

"What happened?" She raised her voice just so it could get through the wind.

"I don't know! It was too sudden! I was… And then it was - "

"Nevermind, make yourself useful and get some water over the fire!"

Po and Mantis had already began helping the villagers. The air was so cold that everyone had difficulty concentrating what they are doing.

Just a few blocks from where they were, Crane and his teammate were also facing the same problem. However, their conditions are different. Most of the villagers had gone to the other fire site, what is left here… is a few rabbits. Practically didn't reached 10. They were on their way putting out the fire when they found out an old man was trapped inside the burning building. Master Mantis had already dove in for the rescue. Just before Crane follows in, Viper pulled him back.

"Wait!" she yelled, pointing at somewhere with her tail. "Do you see that?"

Controlling his temper of an irritated drawback, Crane silently turned his head around, searching blindly under the storm.

For what he could make out through the blizzard, it first appeared that a group of shadows were moving along the roofs… And then the image hits him hard….

_Raiders..._

* * *

Shifu felt a chill when he saw the scenery below the mountain… The storm came at a surprising timing, and he seemed not to notice when did it starts.

_But fire in the village…. _His mouth gapped, eyes were cold, ankles were trembling… _Who would have do such a thing?_

Seas of fire continues to engulf one quarter of the village, lighting the streets and houses in unsettling red while the storm blurs the world in brilliant white. The sight before him had shocked him into the bones.

_I need to get down there…. _He thought, dashing down the stairs with incredible speed. _I need to get to the students!_

He hoped that his students _do_ realize what's going on, and hope that they _do_ know how to handle this situation…

...

_All this… was only once upon a winter's night._

**END OF CHAPTER**

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you


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